NCW members meet Pipili gang-rape survivor in hospital

Cuttack: After meeting a minor gang-rape survivor here, National Commission for Women (NCW) members have said they will suggest ‘tough’ recommendations to the NCW for taking stringent action against those responsible for the girl's plight.

After speaking to the doctors treating her at the mental healthcare centre of SCB medical college and hospital here on Wednesday, NCW member Hemlata Khedia said, "We are now enquiring into the legal aspect of the case after collecting several documentary evidences."

She was accompanied by another NCW member, Manasi Pradhan.

Pradhan said the poor Dalit girl had to undergo an ordeal and what she now required was proper treatment and counselling.

The minor girl from Kamalasagar Patna of Pipili was found lying near a pond on April 28. The police had traced the girl after a missing case was reported.

After she was handed over to her family by the police, it was found that the girl had conceived and fearing reprimand from parents, she had attempted to run away from home. She was referred to the Cuttack Hospital for treatment from a hospital in Bhubaneswar.

Police investigations revealed that the girl was impregnated after she was allegedly gang-raped by one of her acquaintances and his friends, police said.

Meanwhile, police have arrested Kartika Behera (25) and Chhabi Behera (27) from nearby Hatasahi village of the area in this connection and are on the lookout for another accused Sangram Behera.